Industrialization – Gujarat Vs Kerala
This article is about the two-day Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit 2011.
Industrialization – Gujarat Vs Kerala
The two-day Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit 2011 concluded on Thursday in Ahemdabad attaracted investment commitments of Rs 20.83 lakh crore. This was higher than the Rs 12.37 lakh crore investment pledged by the participants in Summit 2009. National and international corporate giants have participated in the investment summit.
Summit Highlights
• Eight thousand industrialists, both national and international, have attended the Summit.
• Total 7936 MoUs worth Rs.20.83 lakh crore were signed at the Summit.
• 101 countries were represented in the Summit.
• Including 14,000 foreign delegates, a total of 35,000 delegates participated in the Summit.
• Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) signed 4286 MoUs.
• This MoUs, if materialized into reality, will generate 52,000 employment opportunities.
Major Projects:
• Essel Infraproject Ltd's Rs 5,200-crore solid waste management and sewage treatment projects.
• L&T infrastructure Development's Rs 5000-crore Ahmedabad monorail project.
• Adani HPPL Ltd pledged Rs 8,000 crore to develop a bulk-general cargo terminal at Hazira.
• The Essar Group signed two MoUs, involving a total investment of around Rs 8,100 crore under its group company, Essar Bulk Terminals Ltd,for expansion of the deep water terminal at Hazira and extension of the company's Salaya jetty.
• The pharma and healthcare sectors saw investments of Rs 26,000 crore by national and international companies. Of this, Rs 15,600 crore will be in health and Rs 10,686 crore in pharma.
• The urban development sector witnessed an investment commitment of Rs 2,26,274 crore.
Gujarat Vs Kerala
While Gujarat is forging ahead with its pro-active industrial policy, in kerala, our politicians are wasting their time in ideological hair-splitting. They seem to be prisoners of their ideological moorings. Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan and the CPI (M) state Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan have aired their views many times in the past regarding the industrial progress of Gujarat. VS is always haunted by a mortal fear of the real estate mafia. When it comes to developmental issues, he keeps harping on the one and the same theme – the real estate mafia. While real estate interests groups are not to be encouraged to exploit the State's land resources in a manner that is detrimental to the interests of the state, that should not be a reason for discouraging major private investments in Kerala. According to Mr Pinarayi Vijayan, no communist should praise the Gujarat model of development. The reason is understood by all, because the architect of these policies is Narendra Modi, who is unacceptable to the Left as Mr Modi is regarded as anti-secular. While an individual or party is entitled to its views on secularism and related issues, it should not come in the way of appreciating pro-active measures taken by a government. Mr. Abdullakutty, the party's former MLA, was expelled from the party, because he dared to praise Mr Modi! Such is this party's commitment to secularism! He was all praise for Mr Karunanidhi, Tamil Nadu CM, for his handling of the industrial affairs in Tamil Nadu.
Kerala's rich army of educated and skilled youths are suffering due to the myopic policies of the ruling class in the state. After getting their degree or diploma, they have no alternative but to leave the state looking for employment opportunities outside the state or overseas. As long as Major political parties of Kerala, particularly the Left, continues to cling on to their fossilized ideologies concerning development, youths of the State have no alternative but leave the shores of Kerala looking for greener pastures outside the State.